Anonymous: 'Expect us' in 2013

Hacktivist group Anonymous has said that 2013 will be a memorable year for cyberattacks.

Along with a statement released over the weekend, which stated that the world should "Expect us 2013," the hackers issued a video boasting of cyberattacks which took place last year -- including temporarily shutting down the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and attacks against the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) web site in protest at the closure of file-hosting website MegaUpload.

In addition, the video mentions the successful shutting down of ACTA legislation, Operation Big Brother which took place worldwide in protest at surveillance regulation and methods, as well as Operation Syria, which not only launched attacks against a number of websites over the Gaza situation where the government allegedly shut down online services, but attempted to give citizens methods to stay online where communications were down. In addition, the collective crowed over the "cyberwar" against the Westboro Baptist Church after the group said they planned to picket the funerals of those who died in the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting.

Anonymous wrote:

"The video was made in teamwork by Anons around the world and it content belongs to the Internet. This is only an excerpt from the actions of Anonymous during 2012. The operations which are listed in the video are only examples, there are far more operations. Some of them still running like Operation Syria.

In what appears to be a recruitment drive, the hackers have also launched a new 2013 "campaign," #OpNewBlood, where potential members are pointed to a number of ways to 'join' the group, keep up with news, and how-to guides.

The future of Anonymous remains to be seen, however, in security firm McAfee Labs' 2013 Threat Predictions report, the firm argued that the group's popularity and "effectiveness" would suffer this year due to its false claims and lack of structure. Instead, it may be the case that high-profile cyberattacks may be conducted by professionals, and we may see a rise in military, political and and "extreme" online campaigns.